Having moved from the land of cold (Edmonton) one thing I do miss is Duchess Bakery. http://duchessbakeshop.com/ This amazing bakery in the Westmount village not far from my old house was a weekend fave by my bestie and me. French-inspired baked treats and delicious coffees as well made this place a swoon worthy favorite. Which, ultimately inspired me to make chocolate meringues one evening at home. Now I stumbled upon a recipe for lavender cream meringues (think macaroon meets more meringue). I'll post my attempt later. However, if you are eager to try some Duchess baked treats yourself, here are some recipes revealed by CBC. duchess bakeshop recipes Enjoy!

Ready for the oven!

Batter ready for the pan. Note it is quite heavy.

Getting ready!

Brownies for tonight!
Here is a great recipe for some really fudgey chewy brownies that my mom gave to me. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup of flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup backing cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2/3 cup oil
4 eggs beaten 2 tsp vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt and nuts. Combine oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients. Spread in 13 x 9" pan. Bake @ 350 for 20 - 25 minutes.

Happy Tuesday!
Over the past few years I have started to develop an appreciation and pallet for wine. Like most I started with the whites, they're sweeter, easy to drink, and lets be honest reminds us of juice. Then I was introduced to a great easy drinking red by a friend, Naked Grape http://www.nakedgrape.ca/ . This is a great wine at a great value. This past weekend while picking up my favourite beer, Hoegaarden http://www.hoegaarden.com/en-ca/home.html, I had the opportunity to try a sauvignon blanc by Kim Crawford wines http://www.kimcrawfordwines.co.nz/. This is a great wine, one of the best for $20. New Zeland is known for their whites, and this one confirms this. Very smooth with a dry finish however the grapefruit lingered on my pallet, making me wish i picked up a bottle on my ride home. Great for sipping or paired with salads, chicken or sushi. Enjoy!

German chocolate cake with buttercream icing

Buttercream cake with raspberry glaze

Buttercream cake with almond buttercream icing

I wish I could say I made this, however I did not. The geniuses at Aphrodite Cafe in Vancouver did. One day I will attempt this! 

Happy Sunday!! Well the weekend is almost over and back to the grind tomorrow morning. I thought i'd share some photos of things i've made over the past year, but haven't ever chatted about until now (other than Facebook posts). So here goes!

Finished! Yum!

So the final verdict...they're good! Quite sweet though. Combination of the sugar in the batter and crumble on top. I'm hoping my alternatives of flour and adding the flax helps to counteract all the sugar. Enjoy!

Crumble topping added. Oven time!

Ready for the topping!

Cutting in the butter. Crumble topping.

One change I like to do to muffins is to substitute regular baking flour with Red Fife Wheat. It is a different variety of wheat, and Canada's oldest. Here is a link to my dad's website (family farm) which he sells Red Fife.  http://www.ehnesorganic.com/faith-red-fife.html This is a great healthy alternative. I also like to add ground flax seed to my muffins for extra goodness! Just be careful how much you use as the muffins can become heavy.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Mixing the ingredients

Banana Crumb Muffins
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter